White City and Sanctuary of Colombia

Our tour around South America had led us to Colombia and we were looking forward to seeing some of its highlights. One of these is Popayán, known as Colombia's Ciudad Blanca or 'White City'. But first we were going to a small Colombian border town in the Andes Mountains called Ipiales, to visit a sanctuary that we'd heard was very beautiful; the Sanctuary of the Virgin of Las Lajas.

The Sanctuary of the Virgin of Las Lajas, Ipiales, Colombia

The Las Lajas Sanctuary is a Gothic-style church, that sits on an arched bridge across the Guáitara River gorge, 13 km southeast of Ipiales.

But getting to Ipiales was tricky. We'd planned to travel by bus from our last destination of Quito, to the Ecuadorian border town of Tulcán, and from there to cross into Colombia at the border town of Ipiales.

Unfortunately, in Quito we were sent to the wrong bus terminal! But thanks to a helpful ticket-seller who grabbed a helpful taxi driver, we ultimately got to the right terminal and on the right bus with only seconds to spare. They were kind people, and we had a little adventure before we'd even left Quito!

Villages scenery en-route to the Ecuador/Colombia border

The bus trip took us through several pretty Ecuadorian villages as we headed north to Tulcán and the border. It was a small and very decrepit bus, and as we jogged and jostled along for the 6-hour journey, we decided we couldn't complain as it only cost us about NZ$ 7 pp. If we'd decided to fly across the border, it would have been around $NZ 120 pp.

We wanted to cross the border into Colombia in daylight, as it is supposed to be dangerous at night because of historic drug wars between Colombia and Ecuador, and more recently, kidnapping by taxi drivers for money. Also, the New Zealand (NZ) Government travel website advised against crossing this border by land due to the ‘extreme risk’ involved.

Market day in a village en-route to the Ecuador/Colombia border

Undeterred, we travelled on enjoying the scenery. But with the prospect of danger looming, we engaged the only other gringos on the bus who were two young travellers from the UK, and told them what we'd heard about this border crossing. They had heard the same stories so we decided to work together to safely get across the border into Colombia.

Our strategy was simply to stick together. All four of us had read that the most dangerous part was getting a taxi in Colombia that wasn’t going to kidnap you for your money, phone, camera etc, and we figured that there is safety in numbers.

Border post across Rumichaca Bridge, out of Ecuador into Colombia

So we arrived at the border post, and after queuing for a short time, said our goodbyes to Ecuador. Then we walked across the Rumichaca Bridge to the Colombian border post and a little while later, we were officially in Colombia.

Then we all got into a taxi together. The plan was to drop us at out our hotel in Ipiales, the border town on the Colombian side. We would get off there, and the UK couple would go the extra block to the bus station, as they had plans to travel further north.

The church on San Felipe Neri Park, Ipiales, Colombia

All went as planned and we safely checked into Hotel Avanty, our Ipiales accommodation. This proved a good choice as it was close to San Felipe Neri Park the town square, and food shops, and so quite good for our one-night stopover.

By this time, it was about 5 pm with a couple of hours of daylight left in the day, so we decided to do our visit to the Las Lajas Sanctuary straight away.

Leaving our hotel, and with all fears of Colombian taxis forgotten, we found a taxi driver who, for a reasonable price, would drive us to the Sanctuary, take photos of us, give us the history of the place (in Spanish), and stay with us to return us safely to the hotel – what a sweetie – we already liked Colombia.

Us with the Sanctuary in the gorge, left of Leigh's shoulder

He drove us out of town, then suddenly stopped in a remote place, making us a little nervous. It turned out that he stopped so that we could get a birds-eye view of the Sanctuary in its stunning setting. It is a church and bridge that span the Guáitara River in a steep-sided gorge, and even from a distance, we could see that it was unique.

After admiring the great view, our driver drove down a steep rough road to a little village. He dropped us near there and we all walked down a lot of steps to the Sanctuary – and what a reward awaited us!

Sanctuary of the Virgin of Las Lajas, Ipiales, Colombia

This amazing piece of engineering and architecture was built between 1916 and 1949. It is incredibly ornate on the outside, with a huge amount of gold leaf on the inside. Specialists in gold leaf application were working on updating the interior while we were there, and it was fascinating to watch.

The church is a pilgrimage site for Catholics as it honours the place where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a mother and her deaf-mute daughter during a fierce storm in 1754.

It is believed that, while taking shelter from the storm under an overhanging rock, the daughter saw an image of the Virgin Mary on the rock wall, and told her mother of the Virgin’s presence. Because this was the first time the daughter had ever spoken, it was considered a miracle.

Sanctuary of the Virgin of Las Lajas, Ipiales, Colombia

After a wander around the inside of the church, we climbed to various lookouts around the steep gorge, getting great views of the church in its natural setting. A bend in the river provided a high bank that acted as an amphitheatre, showing farms and houses climbing up the bank. Further along, we could see a lovely waterfall, and there were plenty of quiet sitting places.

We also inspected the many plaques and tributes left by pilgrims over the years, finding it very poignant.

This beautiful church was quite a spectacular sight and had a wonderful tranquil feel to it that justified our somewhat rushed visit. It was well worth our one-night stopover in the border town of Ipiales.

People out enjoying Ipiales, Colombia

Back in town that evening, we walked around and were amazed at how many people were out and about so late. For a border town, Ipiales was a pleasant surprise. The main street and plaza had a good range of modern shops and restaurants, although the side streets were a bit more basic.

We learned that a lot of people from Ecuador come to Colombia and specifically Ipiales, to buy household goods. It seems that even after paying taxes at the border, the goods are much cheaper in Colombia.

Marg with our Ecuadorian friends Tarquino and his wife

The next morning as we were checking out of Hotel Avanty, we got chatting to a charming couple from Ecuador who were also checking out. They were travelling through Colombia in their Volkswagen campervan and we got talking about our mutual interest in campervans and camper travel….as you do…..

When they heard we were going to get a taxi to the bus station, they insisted on taking us in their van.

They had a lovely old ‘60s VW and loved travelling around in it. We instantly bonded and exchanged email addresses, promising to try to catch up with them if we visit Chile or Argentina next year.

Village en-route to Popayán, Colombia

From the bus station in Ipiales, we caught a local bus to Popayán. It took about 8 hours on a very winding and hilly road through several pretty villages, to reach Popayán which is in southwestern Colombia in the Colombian Andes.

The Spanish arrived in Popayán in 1537, developing the city as a strategic location between Lima and Quito to the south, and Cartagena to the north. It is now a beautiful city of around 259,000 people, with historic colonial architecture, and UNESCO World Heritage status.

Hotel Dann Monasterio, Popayán (UNESCO), Colombia

As soon as we arrived in Popayán, we headed for our accommodation at Hotel Dann Monasterio. This interesting place used to be a monastery, and has rooms tucked in under lovely arched colonnades set around a central courtyard.

It's located in Popayán's historic centre; a great location from which to explore Popayán. Known as the 'White City' because of all its white buildings, the historic centre is considered one of the best preserved and most attractive in Colombia. We were soon walking out to sightsee.

Marg in front of the cathedral and clock tower on Parque Caldas, Popayán (UNESCO), Colombia

Our first stop was the main plaza, Parque Caldas, where we saw the neoclassic basilica with its large dome, and the unusual clock tower called Torre del Reloj.

The clock tower was built between 1673 and 1682 with 96 thousand bricks. The clock itself, was made in England and uses a mechanism operated by the action of two lead weights to keep time. Unfortunately, it stopped working after an earthquake in 1983.

Other places we visited included the Puente Humilladero (Humiliation Bridge), which has 12 arches and was built in 1873, the National Museum, the Guillermo Valencia Theater, the Panteon De Los Proceres (Heroes Pantheon), and the university.

Church of Santo Domingo, Popayán (UNESCO), Colombia

The university was created in 1827 in the cloister of Santo Domingo church. This lovely church was first built in 1552 out of mud and straw, but has since been a victim of Popayan’s many earthquakes. It was re-built in the Baroque architectural style showing now days, in the mid 1700‘s.

We visited several other churches including San Francisco, which has a façade that is considered the best example of baroque style throughout Colombia, La Ermita which is the oldest church in the city and San José. They were all impressive in terms of their architecture, and their rich interiors and art works.

The  White City of Popayán (UNESCO), Colombia

As we walked around, we became more enchanted by Popayán's many white buildings that have given this city its name. The buildings contain homes, prettily decorated shops, and plenty of cafes and restaurants.

Popayán is known for its gastronomy and cultural heritage which have given it the UNESCO status. It is famous for maintaining and promoting the traditional cuisines of the pre-Colombian, African and Spanish cultures.

We enjoyed samples of Popayán’s gastronomic delights several times during our stay, then after two days, we felt we had seen the highlights and decided to move on.

Shops near bus station, Popayan, (UNESCO), Colombia

We walked to the bus station to gather information on how to get to our next destination of San Andrés. While there, we were helped by one young tourist policeman, who then became two policemen looking the same! They were twins, and absolutely gorgeous and helpful, and they loved practicing their English on us.

They told us that the road to San Andrés was washed out and we couldn't get there from Popayán. After a hasty rethink, we decided to go to San Agustin first, and then on to San Andrés from there. So, our next stop is now the UNESCO archeological site in San Agustin.

This is part of a blog series about our travels through the north-eastern countries of South America. The first blog in this series is called “In and around Santiago”.